27 June 2020
To Members of our INP Community,
The INP leadership affirms URI’s actions to commit to a more just and equitable society and we are dedicated to fostering a community that rejects dehumanization of any individual (URI Senior Leadership Team, May 29, 2020). While the INP leadership is committed to providing a safe, equitable, and thoughtful program for learning for everyone, we affirm the URI Graduate School’s acknowledgement of the unequal burden that Black students, in particular, face in battling bias, discrimination, and legacies of racial trauma (Graduate School, June 27, 2020). The INP leadership strongly supports our existing Black faculty and students, and the campus wide efforts to diversify students, faculty, and the staff.
Specifically, the INP leadership is committed to be agents of change by:
- Working with the URI Office of Community, Equity, and Diversity to create guidance and training for our INP faculty to better mentor our Black graduate and undergraduate students.
- Promoting the Diversity and Inclusion Badge program, a micro-credential that is focused on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice among the INP graduate students.
- Encouraging INP faculty and students to engage in anti-racism training.
- Discussing and developing strategies to recruit more Black students and under-represented groups into the INP graduate and undergraduate programs.
We, along with the URI Leadership, stand in solidarity with our Black students and colleagues who seek justice and change in our society because Black Lives Matter.
In Solidarity,
Executive Committee Members:
Walter Besio
Jodi Camberg
William Euler
Katharina Quinlan
John Robinson
Lisa Weyandt